Mass. Law Exam Flunker Apologizes

Remember the guy who sued the Massachusetts Bar Association after he failed their entrance exam because he refused to answer the question about gay marriage? Stephen Dunne's federal suit prompted a national discussion on First Amendment rights, predictably garnering him support from the religious right. Well, he's now apologized to the gay community in an email to Boston's Bay Windows.

In a follow-up interview with Bay Windows, Stephen Dunne says, "I’m an Irish immigrant to this country. And you know, it’s hard to ignore the fact that all communities into America are first discriminated against and attacked before eventually being accepted. In hindsight I see the parallels in the discrimination that were once felt by the Irish in this country, and to a large degree it’s opening up my mind and my heart to want to stop the discrimination that the gay community is confronted with. Because you know it happens to all of us at one point or another; but we have a tendency to have collective amnesia and we forget about it."

Read the interview, the guy comes across as genuine. Of course, cynics out there have to wonder if Dunne's change of heart isn't spurred by a realization of how unemployable (in Massachusetts, at least) his lawsuit may have made him. Once he does pass the bar, that is.